The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (19 December 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 8 – The Irish Language and Education. This press release highlights some of the main results for Clare. A full list of county press releases is available.
| Kathleen Goulding | (+353) 1 895 1413 |
|---|---|
| Tony Downes | (+353) 1 895 1319 |
| censuspublicity@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the results, Deirdre Lynch, Statistician in the Census Division, said: “Profile 8 looks at two distinct aspects of the Census 2022 results, the Irish language and the education of the population in detail. The report includes details on how many of us speak Irish, how often we do so, and to what level it is spoken. The topic of Education provides insights into the levels of qualifications achieved in the population, the age full-time education is ceased, early school leavers by age and sex, as well as the relationships between level of education and employment and economic status.”
Some highlights for Clare
Irish Speakers
There were 123,728 people aged three years and over living in Clare in Census 2022. Of these, 54,437 people could speak Irish. This was up from 52,482 people who could speak Irish in 2016. Irish speakers made up 47% of the county’s population, the same proportion as in 2016. The county had the second highest proportion of Irish speakers in the country after Galway County.
Nationally, almost 1.9 million people could speak Irish, or 40% of all people aged three and over. This was up by more than 112,500 people since 2016 (+6%).
There were more female than male Irish speakers in the county, with 51% of females able to speak Irish compared with 44% of males. Females nationally were also more likely to be able to speak Irish than males, accounting for 55% of all Irish speakers.
Where People Spoke Irish
The number of people speaking Irish daily (within the education system only) fell to 15,357 from 15,648. There were 1,036 people speaking Irish daily (outside the education system only) compared with 1,058 people in 2016. Almost 3,000 people were speaking Irish weekly (outside the education system only) in 2022, down from the 3,170 people who did so in 2016.
Fluency in Speaking Irish
The Irish language question was expanded in Census 2022 to ask those who spoke Irish how well they spoke it. In Clare, 4,822 people who could speak Irish spoke it very well (9%), while 17,732 could speak it well (33%), and just over 30,000 people did not speak it well (55%). In Ireland overall, 10% of Irish speakers could speak the language very well with 32% speaking it well and 55% not speaking it well.
Level of Education
The number of people with a third level qualification in the county increased from just under 30,000 in 2016 to just over 37,300 in 2022. This was a rate of 44% compared with 45% nationally. There were 763 people in the county who held a PhD, which was 2% of all PhD holders in the country.
Over 23,600 people, or 28% of all those aged 15 and over, had completed their full-time education at upper secondary level. This was up from just under 23,000 in 2016. Nationally, almost 867,400 people had completed their education at upper secondary level (26%).
Nearly 11,200 people in the county in Census 2022 who had completed their education at lower secondary level (13% of all those aged 15 and over), compared with 11,303 people in Census 2016 who indicated they had done so. More than 446,000 people nationally had completed their education at lower secondary level (13%).
Almost 7,700 people aged 15 and over had completed their education at primary level or had no formal education (9%). This was down from just above 8,800 people in 2016. Nationally, nearly 332,500 people had completed their education at primary level or had no formal education (10%).
Age Completing Education
The average age at which people completed their full-time education increased in all counties between Census 2016 and Census 2022. In Clare the average age rose from 20 years to 20.9 years. Nationally the average age went from 19.9 years to 20.8 years.